ann16011 — Announcement

ESOcast 82: Zodiacal Light

4 March 2016

ESO’s observatories in Chile are located at such incredibly dark sites that normally the only thing illuminating them on a moonless night is the faint light from the billions of stars in the Milky Way. But even the darkest sky is not completely dark. This ESOcast describes the magnificent natural light phenomenon known as Zodiacal light, that sometimes casts a ghostly glow in the skies above ESO’s telescopes. It is the glow of sunlight as it is reflected towards us by dust in the plane of the Solar System, dust that is created by collisions between asteroids and the evaporation of comets. Yet another of the natural wonders that astronomers at ESO’s observatories are lucky enough to witness for themselves; we hope that you too will enjoy the Zodiacal light show!

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